Christmas Drabble
by CCAA
Summary: No ongoing storyline, just some short stories containing Life and Christmas. Different Genres, Settings and Ratings. Hope you'll enjoy! CCAA
1. 1st December

_Disclaimer: I do not own Life and it's characters (although I wrote it down on my wishlist for christmas, so maybe by the end of the month...) _

_Author's note: My first attempt, so please: read and review. I'd be happy to hear what you think, positive and negative, concerning the story's content and grammar or idioms (for I'm not a native speaker =) ) _  
_Hope you enjoy!_  
_CCAA**  
-**_

_**"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas."  
- Peg Bracken**_

"Christmas is coming up", he stated out of the blue as it was his habit. Reese raised her eyebrows slightly while continuing to type at her computer keyboard.  
He kept silent for so long that she thought it had been all he was going to say. Sometimes he did that. Stating something with no context at all, leaving her do decide what to do with it.  
Not today though.  
"It's only 24 days left", he continued, watching her over the madndarin he was peeling.  
"I know that", she answered, slight annoyance already in her voice. What was he up to anyway? She knew that look on his face. _That_ look when he was trying to steer the conversation into a certain direction and make it look like she was the one who brought it up. But today he didn't seem to have the patience to wait until she gave it up and simply asked what he wanted.  
"Are we gonna exchange Christmas-gifts?", he blurted out, before he put a slice of the mandarin into his mouth.  
Finally looking up from the report she was writing, she sighed: "We already had this conversation, didn't we?", sounding like she talked to a toddler who kept nagging about having a dog or some chocolate or whatever.  
Crews cocked his head to the site, eyes slightly narrowed as if he had to think hard to remember."Yeah, I guess, we did..."

"So", she cut him off harshly, eager to end this crap and return to her report. "Why are you bringing this up every year?"  
He ignored her question, asking one himself: "What'd Christmas be without gifts?"  
Reese sighed heavily, sensing that she wasn't going to end this quickly.  
"Weren't you the one telling me, you wanted to lead an uncluttered life? And most gifts you get for Christmas _are_ clutter."  
"It's the thought that counts, Reese. And it's the gifts of time and love that really matter. Not the _cluttery _ones." He frowned at the word; she could practically hear him wondering, if it even was a word.  
She simply rolled her eyes at him and continued typing.


	2. 2nd December

**"He went to the church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and for, and patted the children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of homes, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure. He had never dreamed of any walk, that anything, could give him so much happiness."  
― Charles Dickens, _A Christmas Carol_  
**

* * *

When she had been a child, she'd gone to church every Sunday. Of course, there had been times when she tried to argue her way around it, but most of the times, she simply went with her parents. Out of habit, out of faith. It somehow belonged to their routine. Of the week and the year.  
She wasn't quite sure when she stopped going to church.  
When she fought with her dad more often?  
When she became a cop and felt that God wasn't there for everyone?  
When she slipped into drugs?  
Or when her lover blew his head off while she was next to him not caring?  
She didn't know. It didn't matter anymore. It didn't matter _when_ she lost her faith or because of what.  
That she found herself in front of a church now didn't have anything to do with faith. Not in the first place.

Although her faith did return nonetheless.  
Not necessarily in God. But in _something_. In herself.  
But most important of all: Her faith in other people. Namely her partner.  
But that was not the reason she was here. She just felt that this time of year wasn't complete without the candles, the singing, the prayers.  
She didn't know why it seemed to belong together but there was no time when she felt more at home in a church than Christmas time.  
Maybe it was just easier to believe in things when it came to Christmas.


	3. 3rd December

**_"May you be happy in the life you have chosen."_- Charles Dickens ( A Christmas Carol)**

* * *

Charlie Crews woke abruptly. He had dreamed. Not nightmares. Those had become seldom and rarely.  
No. He had dreamed about ghosts. Not his own ghosts,though, who had been haunting him in prison and the months after. No. It had been a Christmas ghost. One with mistletoes behind the ears and Christmas balls from each of his fingers.  
But although he knew he had only be dreaming, he couldn't just turn around and go to sleep again. It made him wonder.  
The ghost had shown him his life and had asked him if he wanted to change it because now was his one and only chance to do so.

What if... Would he? Would he chose another life?  
One small decision and everything would have gone differently.  
He could have taken his money and move away where nothing would remind him of the betrayal. He could have become a lawyer or whatever. Never a cop.  
Probably Mickey Rayborn would have laid his eye on someone else on the academy. Probably he'd never had tried do dirty Tom Seybold.  
Probably his friends would be alive.  
He'd had never gone to prison for twelve years. Maybe have some kids by now.

What if...  
Maybe, if the ghost had asked him in reality, he would have taken the offer.  
He thought about that for a moment. No prison. No settlement money. No conspiracy.  
But then...  
He'd never have met people who where now important, even essential for him. If he hadn't been in prison, he'd probably never had met Ted. And Reese.  
"I wouldn't do it", he said to nothing in particular. To himself or the ghost from his dream, maybe. A bit loud even, for it caused a soft groan by the woman in his arms. She murmured something unintelligible, turned into him and buried her face in his chest.  
"I guess I couldn't change one thing without affecting others. Things I don't wanna change. But I would, because it's all...", he was cut off.  
"Shut it, Crews! I'm trying to sleep here!" Her voice heavy with sleep, she still managed to snap at him. Charlie smiled, dragged his partner closer and went back to sleep.  
When the ghost returned, he would tell it that he was perfectly happy with what he had in this moment.

* * *

_ silversurf4: thanks for the review! if I can think of anything Reese would get Crews, you'll certainly get to know :)  
_


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